Stuff that works for me...

Random thoughts on stuff that works for me:

-ERGO baby carrier. It works for the front, back or side. I've carried little ones and big ones in it, super comfortable. It even has a zippered pocket for your wallet.

-Kangaroo bibs. The perfect bib.

-DuraTuff glasses by Libby. I've had these glasses for over 10 years and we've only broken one.

-Longaberger dishes. Ditto, had over 10 yrs, only broken one.

-Allrecipes.com for recipes. Each recipe is rated, so you know if you've got a winner.

-Doubling my recipes. I freeze one and serve one. I always have something in the freezer for a lazy meal or an emergency.

-White towels only. All of our towels match and can be moved between bathrooms.

-Keeping a toiletries travel bag packed at all times for each family member. It makes overnights for the kids easy and lessens packing stress for trips.

-Keeping a dark red washcloth in the first aid box. We use it on kids' booboos, but they can't see the blood on it and calm down.

-Tresemme Moisturizing Curls conditioner for SJ's hair. A cheap, terrific product that we use to wash and style.

-Daily pill boxes, the ones with a compartment for each day. I put the kids' vitamins in them, & can keep track of whether or not they've taken them today. Also, we use them for travel.

-Keeping a shelf by the door for the kids' shoes.

-Low hooks by the door for kids to hang their own coats.

-Fiber One pancake mix, yum. It's not flavored, so I can add bananas or pumpkin or cinnamon to flavor it up.

-Harry & David Pepper Relish. It makes great appetizers, soup, sandwich topping, anything!

-When having company, make sure the trash and dishwasher are empty. People can then help you with cleanup easily.

-Legalzoom.com. Cheap, fully legal wills and other legal documents.

-Keeping a hidden key to the house somewhere outside.

-Valerian. Herbal sleep aid that works for me!

-Avon makeup. Liberal return policy, good product, and cheap.

-Knox County Library website. I can put a book on hold, transfer it to my local branch, and renew materials from home.

-Doubling meals that I'm taking to church/MOPS/etc. If there's a potluck on Sunday, I'll double a recipe, take half to church, keep half at home for dinner that night.

-Homemade healthy popsicles. I can let the kids have a popsicle, they think it's a treat, but they're eating straight fruit, ha!

-Stir Crazy popcorn popper. Best. Popcorn. Period.

-Keeping a pen and notepad by the bed. If I think of something I need to remember, I just jot it down and it's off my mind.

-Nature's Own Double Fiber bread. 5 grams of fiber per slice, woo hoo!

-Probiotics. That's worth a whole post of it's own, but probiotics rock.

-BORAX. Earth friendly cleaner that works very well on any surface, and cheap too!

That's all I can think of now. What works for you?

Quick Funny

When planning for my beach trip, I decided to braid SJ's hair so that SuperDaddy would not have to worry much over it. I'm new at this girl-hair-braiding business, so I did the best I could and let it be. I thought she looked cute.

I got a call from SuperDaddy while on the way to SC. He simply said, "Is her hair supposed to look like this?". I said "Yep, it is, I'll be back on Saturday."

Halloween 2008

Our Halloween party was a blast! Each year, we invite the cousins and the besties over for a party and to trick or treat. Our block is Halloween Party Central, tons of kids out and several neighbors going all out with decorations. The kids had so much fun, and so did the grownups. Say what you will about Halloween and it's origins, but for my kids, Halloween is for costumes, pumpkins, fun family traditions and candy, lots of candy.

1. Auntie Jo with her girls.

2. Blurry picture, rats! The Frog and Ben 10.

3. Axe weilding Fairy Princess, typical Jelly.

4. Most of the kids, can't find our favorite Korean in the pic.

5. My gorgeous children at the pumpkin patch. I could eat them up!

Edisto Beach 2008

Last week, I had the tremendous joy of spending a week at the beach with my best girls. My bestie A, my sister-in-law Jo, SoulSisterM and I spent the week in a sweet little cottage on Edisto Beach, SC. The cottage was RIGHT on the ocean, just 7 steps down to the sand. It had a large porch overlooking the ocean.

Edisto Beach was perfect for this getaway. It's a natural setting, no hotels, no chain restaurants, no crowds, just lots of sand and grass and wildlife. The most people we saw on the beach at once, as far as the eye could see, was 7.

During the week, we

-got to see about 6 dolphins playing in the ocean. We were about 20 yards from them and could see them jumping and flipping, it was amazing. We got to see them up close for about 20 minutes before they swam to deeper water.

-watched the entire North and South miniseries, Sense and Sensibility (BBC edition) and The Office.

-rented bikes and rode around the island.

-went for a kayak tour to a beach covered with shells. SoulSisterM found a molted horseshoe crab to take home to her boys.

-took a nap almost every day.

-ate all of the junk food we don't let our kids see us eat! We classed up the Cheetos and Nutty Bars with a glass of wine though.

-went to lots of thrift stores and yard sales. Yes, even on vacation, we go junkin'!

-laughed and laughed and laughed.

-went in to Charleston to walk around and to go to a Donna the Buffalo concert. These old ladies boogied til 2 am!

-talked and talked and talked.

-stayed in our jammies all day on Tuesday and on Friday. We even went for walks on the beach in our jammies.

-went to a super little cafe for lunch, Main's Cafe, and had tomato pie.

-bought local produce from George and Pinks, the tomatoes and corn were fantastic.

-ate shrimp for lunch that had been caught that morning, dipped in butter, yum.

-kept thanking God for our blessings and His creation.

-kept thanking our husbands for being such great fellas. Every time one of us talked to our kids, the kids would say how much fun they were having with their Daddies!

We had an amazing trip, the cottage, the beach, the weather, and best of all, my favorite girls.

I've Been Tagged!

This post is not finished as I can't figure links out! Tomorrow, I'll get someone to help and finish the post correctly.
My sweet adoption buddy, KAREY, tagged me; so here goes:
1. I ate my pet cat Louie. I grew up in Ghana, Africa, and Mr. M, my mother's househelper, was asked to get rid of the cat because he meowed constantly. Mom didn't think about Mr. M's tribe being "cat eaters", and he innocently prepared the cat for dinner. We didn't know it was the cat until a little later, calm down.
2. I played Bible Bowl all through my high school years. It's basically a quick quiz game based on Bible knowledge. Our team did ok in competition, but we had sooooo much fun we didn't care.
3. All through college, I worked as a lifeguard. Piece of cake job as the supervisor let me pick my own hours. So, lazy bones that I am, picked the morning shifts so the pool was empty most of the time and I got paid to study.
4. I got married at Park West Hospital. SuperDaddy's dad was a patient there when we decided to "elope", so we met our minister there one afternoon and got hitched. My parents were there too, but we couldn't track down his mom. Oooops, she said we were forgiven when she got a grandchild. She didn't know she would be waiting 8 years for our little B to come!
5. I worked for 3 years as a Personal Organizer. You'd never know it now that the kids have sucked out my brain cells!
6. I love to listen to the radio shows on NPR on Saturday morning. I don't always get to, (due to the aforementioned brain cell suckers) but love to listen and laugh too loudly.
7. I love, love, love to travel. Even overnight business trips to a nearby city with husband thrill me. So a week in Ethiopia was heaven, not to mention getting our amazing girl. :) When we retire, we want to travel the world, the dream travel list is getting long.

Quick Funny and Update

SJ's latest cute saying:
When I went on my recent trip to Louisville, I brought back injera (Ethiopian bread from a restaurant there) and cooked up some lentil stew for dinner when I got home. Yesterday, Daddy went on a business trip, we told SJ he was going. Her response, "Yay! Daddy bring Opia food for SJ!" Apparantly anyone travelling must return with injera, you've been warned.
Must brag:
SJ, who did not speak a word of English 5 months ago, can now recognize some written letters and can sound out most letters. Her highly verbal brother has come in handy!
Update on whining about motherhood:
We have gotten our little guy back within decent limits of behavior. I've taken steps to be more firm, not allow negotiation and to spend lots more 1 on 1 time with B. He will always be a challenge to me, but it's definitely more fun being his mom when we're not fighting all day! B also started karate classes. In just 2 classes, I can already see an improvement in listening and maturity.

Reunion with MD

Thanks to the wonder that is Facebook, my dearest friend from college found me after an 11 year hiatus. MD and I lived together for almost 4 years and were inseperable, she's a huge part of my story. MD & I agreed to meet about halfway between our towns this past weekend. We had so much fun catching up, laughing, and sharing how we've changed and struggled over the years.

We did a little thrift store shopping, lots of good eating (including Ethiopian food, German food and Black Forest cake), relaxed in the hot tub, caught up on sleep, enjoyed ice wines, and talked for hours. MD's little brother (who's not little anymore, he's a handsome fella sporting gorgeous hair) also visited on Saturday evening. It was terrific to catch up with SD too, what a super guy he is.

The kids did well during my absence, they stayed with Mamaw and Papaw one night so SuperDaddy could work late, then SuperDaddy had them the remaining time. The kids were excited to see me, so sweet. I'm very thankful that SuperDaddy encouraged me to go and did such a great job with the kids.

I am so thankful that my friend is back, in several ways.